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Aimee Dubois, 7:18 a.m.
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in They Both Die at the End, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mortality, Life, and Meaning
Human Connection and Social Media
Choices and Consequences
Friendship and Chosen Family
Business, Ethics, and Dehumanization
Summary
Analysis
Mateo races away from Rufus, figuring it’s better to die alone after living alone. He doesn’t want to know what Rufus did that got his friends arrested. Mateo stops to rest at a daycare, and he wonders if he should go home and write more letters. He thinks back to a chemistry teacher who made him feel seen. Just then, Rufus rides up on his bike, leaps off, and grabs Mateo. Rufus looks scared and asks if Mateo is crazy. Mateo points out that Rufus never mentioned he’s on the run. Rufus suggests they go somewhere and he’ll tell the whole truth about his family and about what he did. Mateo leads Rufus into Central Park. They stumble into the Alice in Wonderland sculpture, which Mateo has never seen since he and Dad spent more time in Althea Park.
Rufus makes an important point: it’s dangerous for Mateo to run off on his own on the day he’s supposed to die. At least if they’re together, they can look out for each other—but this does, importantly, require trust. In order to build trust, Rufus is going to have to come clean with Mateo and give him a reason to stick around. Coming across the Alice in Wonderland statue heightens the sense of absurdity and strangeness of this day. It’s strange for Mateo to grapple so closely with his death; he feels, in some ways, as though his world has turned upside-down like Alice’s did.
Themes
The boys sit on the sculpture. Mateo thinks that Rufus is awkward and silent in the same way that people were when his history teacher would talk about how beneficial Death-Cast is. He asks if Rufus killed someone. Rufus says that he jumped Aimee’s new boyfriend because he was angry and felt unwanted, lost, and like he needed to take it out on someone. Mateo understands that Rufus isn’t a monster and just made a mistake. Rufus says his friends are paying the price—and Rufus abandoned them, right after he abandoned his family.
It’s easy for Mateo to see that Rufus is hurting and needs a friend on this day. This helps Mateo to see that he has something to give, too. He can show Rufus respect and compassion, and that’s exactly what Rufus needs right now. By thinking of the relationship as something that’s two-sided, Mateo can begin to build confidence and understand that he can be the person he wants to be—and he can start by being a good friend.
Themes
